pull
at his own bowl. "I hope you're well provisioned, for Big Otter's an
awful consumer of victuals. Well, as I was saying, the surface of the
snow got frozen thinly, and the work o' tramping after the sled and
holding on to the tail-line was uncommonly hard, as I could see, for I
lay with my head to the front, looping back on the poor man. But it was
on the exposed places and going down the slopes that the greatest
difficulty lay, for there the dogs were keen to run away. Once or twice
they did fairly get off, and gave me some rough as well as long runs
before my man could catch them up. At last we came one afternoon to an
open plain where the snow had felt the thaw and been frozen again pretty
hard. The moment we got on it away went the dogs. Big Otter tried to
run, but one of his shoes went through the crust and the other didn't,
so down he came, and had to let go the line. I felt easy enough at
first, for the plain was level, but after a time it became lumpy, and I
got some ugly bumps. `Never mind,' thought I, `they'll be sure to come
to some bushes, and that'll pull them up.' Just as I thought so, we
came to a slope, and the team went slap over a bank. The sled and I
threw a complete somersault. Fortunately we came down on the dogs,
which broke our fall, though it half killed them!

"When Big Otter came and turned me right side up, I found that I had
sustained no damage whatever, but, woe's me! our tin kettle was almost
knocked flat. The worst of it was that in trying to put it right we
drove a big hole in the bottom of it, so we had to bid farewell to hot
food, except what we roasted. We could also melt snow by plastering up
the hole so as to get enough to drink, but boiling water was quite out
of the question."

"Well, Macnab," said our chief, rising, "since you have got the soup
over at last, come along with me and let's hear about your Indian
friend's proposals."

We assisted our visitor into the mess-room, which was also our principal
council-chamber, and there left him to talk business with Mr Strang
while we returned to Bachelors' Hall to let off our effervescing spirits
by indulging in a running commentary on the unexpected visit, and a
minute analysis of the characters of Macnab and Big Otter, which, I must
add, was decidedly favourable.

"It seems to me a piece of good luck that he has got here at all," said
Lumley, after we had finished the analysis.

"Why so?" asked Spooner.

"Be